Safety & Compliance

Ready for New HOS Enforcement on July 1st?

Draw a big, red circle around July 1 on your calendar. That's the date when the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration will officially begin enforcing the new hours of service regulations for all commercial motor vehicles that are involved in interstate commerce. A trucking company or driver that operates only within one state is not required to comply with FMCSA rules, because the individual state rules apply instead.

Credit: DAT

In our industry, the impact of HOS changes will be felt most keenly by long-haul truck drivers and their employers, with secondary effects for the shippers and brokers who hire them. Everyone involved with long-haul trucking will need to take a second look at schedules for pick-up and delivery, to accommodate the change in drivers' on-duty and off-duty periods. Specifically, fleet owners worry about reduced productivity, expressed as fewer miles per day or fewer hauls per week. From the driver's side, the new rules could lead to a forced reduction in total work hours, with a corresponding pay cut, due to mandatory breaks and the 34-hour restart.

Some jobs that could be accomplished in two days may stretch to three, increasing costs and causing all sorts of schedule adjustments up and down the supply chain. Drivers will be under pressure to minimize load and unload times, and carriers may be more inclined to charge their customers for excessive detention. These and other factors could add to pressure on rates, especially for long hauls and other overnight jobs, which will affect brokers and shippers as well as carriers.